The Deep End is a strange thriller—never suspenseful, never
scary—yet it maintains a tremendous intrigue that carries the whole film. I am
actually quite amazed by how involved I was in a film that never engulfed me
with its actual intentions. I’m not exactly sure how this material could have
achieved adequate suspense, but the filmmakers cannot be criticized for not
trying. The movie twists so many conventions, indulges in so much dramatic
irony, it is difficult to not get caught up in everything going on. However, for
a movie so intent on enwrapping the audience in a family drama, it has a major
flaw: lack of actual character development.

The main twist on convention comes from the perspective of the film. It’s a
thriller from the point of view of a housewife. Margaret Hall (Tilda Swinton)
lives on Lake Tahoe in California with her three children and father-in-law,
Jack (Peter Donat). Her husband is in the Navy and away. Contact with him is
rare and conversations are simple. Beau (Jonathan Tucker), her oldest son, is
homosexual and in a relationship with Darby Reese (Josh Lucas), a particularly
sleazy older man. Margaret has just learned all of this information after Beau
was in a car accident, under the influence, with Darby. To help keep Beau out of
trouble, Margaret offers Darby money to stay away from her son. Later that
night, Darby comes to the house for Beau and, after a fight and out of Beau’s
sight, falls off a dock and onto an anchor. Margaret finds the body, and
thinking her son is responsible, dumps it by some rocks in the lake.

The most interesting aspect of this twist on perspective is watching how
Margaret must juggle covering up what she thinks is murder and keeping family
obligations. Once the body is discovered, the police immediately suspect foul
play, and Alek Spera (Goran Visnjic of TV’s "ER") comes to the house
demanding money for a tape that could shed suspicion on Beau. There’s a great
sequence in which she spends a whole day trying to get the money with the climax
involving a family problem. Soon enough, the entire movie makes a complete
turnaround as Alek does something completely out of character with most
blackmailers. Once this event occurs, it becomes difficult to see exactly where
the movie is going. Considering that until this point everything that has
happened is to be expected, the twist reinvigorates the entire plot.

As I said before, the film lacks suspense, and this is mostly due to the
absence of an emotional hook. The characters here are afraid to talk openly with
one another. While this leads to many misunderstandings—incidents that give
great potential to a thriller—the situation leaves little to no potential for
drama. The degree of the audience’s involvement on an emotional level to the
story depends entirely on how much they sympathize with the characters. Margaret
is obviously a sympathetic character because of her intentions and Beau due to
his innocence, although knowing that all they need to do is simply talk to each
other to correct the problem extremely detracts from any connection to either of
them.

Tilda Swinton has garnered much praise for her performance here, and it is
easy to see why. She is in full control of her character’s emotional and
psychological complexities. Yes, it’s distracting that Margaret will not talk
to her son, but as played by Swinton, we believe there is a reason why she won’t.
This is a tricky performance. It depends on many quiet moments, and this is
where she shines. Note the sequence in which she discovers the body. Devoid of
any dialogue, we see her thought process in ridding her home of death and
evidence. If Swinton does falter anywhere, it is in her dialogue—specifically
her dialect. An English actress, she sounds as though she is biting out each and
every word to maintain her American accent. It is a somewhat minor quibble
considering the overall complexity of the performance, but this extreme
enunciation is more than occasionally distracting.

I never had an emotional investment in The Deep End, but it grabbed me
on an intellectual level. That alone is an accomplishment, but it doesn’t
completely make up for what’s lacking. I admired the film’s overall craft
and structure, but without capturing my complete sympathies, it misses
greatness.